iCrossing CEO Don Scales Steps Down

Brian Powley takes the helm

Don Scales, iCrossing CEO, is leaving the company effective immediately and will be replaced by Brian Powley, who currently serves as North American president of the New York-based digital agency.

Scales will take a buyout, per a source close to the situation, from parent Hearst Magazines, which purchased iCrossing a little more than three years ago for $325 million. The 57-year-old Scales' health is not a contributing reason for his departure, said the source, who also characterized the development as a surprise.

In a statement, David Carey, president of Hearst, said, "Everyone at Hearst would like to thank Don for leading the creation of iCrossing, which Hearst acquired in 2010, and since then has been a key element of the company's digital strategy."

From the outside looking in, all signs point to Scales heading for potentially greener pastures.

He became iCrossing's chief exec five years ago when he replaced iCrossing founder Jeff Herzog, while previously serving the firm as COO. Under his stewardship, the digital agency has ballooned from a few hundred staffers to 900 employees while expanding its services repertoire from being primarily search-engine-marketing-focused to increasingly picking up business for its display advertising, social media marketing and in-store digital practices.

Meanwhile, Powley joined iCrossing's San Francisco office in 2007 after 25 years of working in the ad industry, with previous stops at OgilvyOne Worldwide, MRM Worldwide and Modem Media. In terms of pure digital experience, the United Kingdom native's resume goes back to 1998.